Until the End of Forever
by QueenSwan89
Summary: Regina and Emma return from Neverland and find that life together is harder than they imagined, but they're trying. This is essentially a sequel to Neverland Connection, but you can likely understand it without reading the other, it just would make it better. Established Swan Queen.
1. Chapter 1

Nearly a week after they arrived back from Neverland and Emma was going crazy. Her parents couldn't keep their hands to themselves and Henry was staying with Regina so Emma hardly had reprieve. Most would think that she and Regina wouldn't be able to stay away from each other, but Emma had so much to catch up on at the station since there hadn't been someone officially covering. Regina had been reinstated as Mayor since there really wasn't anyone qualified to do that either, and mostly everyone was warmer toward her than they had been before she left. Granted, she wasn't really friendly with any of them, but they were still nicer to her, she vice versa.

Emma knew she was making excuses not to see the other woman, it was stupid, but she felt like she needed to give Regina space after they got back. Emma was certain of her feelings, but Regina didn't trust easily and really didn't love easily and Emma didn't want to push her in case she changed her mind. It was really unlike Emma not to push, because that was all she had done to Regina since she came to town. She pushed, and pushed and pushed Regina to many different limits, but now, nothing. But as she sat and did paperwork well past what should be her lunch time, or breakfast even, all she could do was think of chocolate eyes and soft dark hair. And full red lips. Those were the most frequent things she saw anytime she closed her eyes.

"Fuck it," she found herself saying out loud. She pulled out her phone and text the brunette.

**I miss you.**

Only a moment passed before her phone beeped.

_Sheriff Swan, shouldn't you be working?_

So Regina was back to pre-Neverland feelings. Or she was pissed at Emma for not seeing her. Well, Regina could have come to see her, too, and she hadn't.

**I am. I have been, for 14 hours.**

_You've been working since midnight?_

**Yup.**

_Are they giving you meals?_

**No one to give me any.**

_I see._

**You're mad at me?**

_What reason would I have, Sheriff Swan?_

**Regina, please don't be mad at me? Pllleeaassseee?**

_Was that supposed to come off as a question or as whining?_

**Sorry to have bothered you. I'll see you later when I drop Henry off from school. What time is good?**

_Seven is fine._

**7 it is.**

Emma dropped her phone onto the desk, her head following. She banged her head on the desk slowly, angry with herself. She picked her phone back up and called David.

"Hey dad, can you come to the station as soon as you can? I just need to leave, I've been here far too long and I need out for a little?"

"Yeah, I'll be there soon," he agreed.

She called Granny's and ordered grilled cheese with extra fries and a spinach mandarin salad, telling them she'd be there soon to pick it up. David walked in fifteen minutes later.

"You going home?" he asked when he saw her stand up suddenly, on a mission.

"No, I'm going to make my, I'm going to make Regina happy."

"Too much information, Emma."

"Shut up, that's not what I meant. I've been avoiding her, thinking she needed space and she's pissed and I'm going to go make her happy."

"Good for you, Emma. Why don't you take the rest of the day and tomorrow off? I'll cover for you; I haven't been doing my part as much as I should have anyway."

"That's great, dad, thanks." She gave him a smile and took off.

She grabbed herself a cocoa and Regina a latte when she picked up their food and headed to Regina's office. She asked the secretary if Regina was busy and the secretary shook her head. Emma knocked on the door with no intention of waiting for an answer and entered. She shut the door behind her and turned to see Regina staring at her from her desk. Her eyes were rimmed with red; even so she looked even more beautiful than Emma's thoughts had been remembering. She was wearing high-waist black slacks and a green blouse underneath a black blazer.

"If you keep insisting on not working, I can promote your father to do your job, Miss Swan."

"Come on, Regina, everyone deserves a lunch break."

"Yes, but not everyone can afford to take one. I have a lot of paperwork."

"Regina, are you mad at me?"

"I believe you asked me that already."

"And I believe you didn't answer."

"Emma, I don't have time to play games, can you please leave?"

"Regina, no. I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong."

"Oh, so when I _want _you to leave, you won't, it's only when I desire you to stay that you leave?"

"I wanted to give you space, in case you needed it."

"I didn't ask for space, Emma. We announce to everyone that we're in love and then we get back here and you disappear. I understand there is work to catch up on, trust me, I have months and months of work to catch up on from your mother doing _nothing_ that is required of a mayor, but I would have made time for you."

"You didn't try to see me, either!"

"Emma, I didn't request your presence, you may go."

Emma set down the tray that had the drinks and their food onto Regina's desk. She then walked around the desk and turned Regina's chair so she was facing her. She pulled the brunette's hands into her own and pulled her out of the chair.

"Regina, damn it, look at me!" When the brunette turned her head to look into Emma's eyes, Emma saw the brown eyes fill with water. Regina tried to blink the tears away but a couple rolled down her cheeks. She lifted her hand to wipe them away. "Regina, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have disappeared. I just thought maybe you would change your mind."

"You told me you would always stay, _always_, you said. You told me you wouldn't leave, that I was all you wanted, and then you disappeared."

"Regina, please believe that I never meant to hurt you. I figured you'd want time with Henry, and that maybe you wanted some space to breathe since we'd been around each other constantly in Neverland. I don't want you to get sick of me before we even get to have a real relationship. I love you, Regina. I love you so much that all I have thought about since we've been back is you. I'm hardly sleeping, I can't concentrate, my paperwork is shit and I've doodled almost an entire notebook like a twelve-year-old with Emma Swan-Mills all over it."

Regina smirked. "I'd like to see that."

"Come to the station, I'll give it to you. That's beside the point, though. I truly have no intention of not being with you. You're it, Regina, can you believe me?"

Regina nodded, but only slightly. "If you ever pull a stunt like that, you're never getting any again."

"Does that mean I'm forgiven?"

"I can't stay mad at you, especially when you're looking at me with that look in your eyes."

"What look is that?"

"Your sex look."

"My sex look?"

"It's a look that tells me you want to pounce on me."

"Oh. Well, yeah I would love to pounce on you, but I won't be doing it. You deserve a date first. Lucky for me, David is covering for me tonight and tomorrow, if you happen to be free, I mean."

"I suppose that could be managed."

"When?"

"Why don't you just count on tonight, and if I feel you've sufficiently made up for you absence then you can stay through tomorrow night."

Emma raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Are you asking me to stay the night, Madame Mayor? What will people think?"

"I've never cared," the brunette replied, moving a step closer to the blonde, but not kissing her. No, Emma would have to make that move. And Emma did. She pushed her lips against Regina's full, red lips and magic exploded through her. Their kiss deepened, and Emma pushed Regina against the wall, her hands squeezing the brunette's waist. She felt Regina's hands all over her, tugging and squeezing in the most delightful way. A moan worked its way out of Emma's throat and Regina felt it against her hand, which was at Emma's throat.

Emma pulled the bottom of Regina's shirt out of her pants and moved one hand underneath, touching the soft skin on the strong muscle of Regina's abdomen. Regina released a pleased sigh and grabbed the blonde's wrist to stop her hand from moving any farther. She broke the kiss.

"I believe you owe me a date first, my dear."

"You suck," Emma whined.

"Well, I can, yes, but we'll see how much you deserve that, later."

"I'll pick you up at 8?"

"Sure, and would you see if your parents want to keep Henry?"

"Of course."

Emma brought Henry to her parent's apartment and changed into black skinny jeans and black ankle boots. She put on the green blouse that always made Regina stare, leaving one less button undone than usual. She pulled on her red leather jacket and left to get her love.

Regina opened the door in a black dress that hugged her exactly the way Emma liked. Her legs were bare of tights and she wore black pumps. She smiled, almost shyly and stepped out onto the porch.

"What's the plan, Emma?"

"Dinner at Granny's, then back here for a movie, I have a couple in my car I think you'd like."

"That's a completely ordinary date, Emma, I thought you were trying to earn something here," Regina teased, one eyebrow raised.

"I fully intend to impress you on this date, I haven't given you all the details. You think I lay all my cards out on the table before I'm ready?"

"No, I suppose you don't."

When they got to the diner, the back room was set up with one table, two candles and a vase of flowers in the center. Emma pulled out a chair for Regina, and sat across from her.

"Are those primrose with the roses?"

"Yes."

"What a strange bouquet."

"Well, I chose them for their meanings."

"Which are?"

"Red and white roses together mean unity, and primrose stands for 'I can't live without you.'"

Regina smiled, touched, but refusing to give the blonde a win so early in the date.

After they ate and the plates were taken from the table, Regina found a white notecard in front of her on the table with a number 1 on it. She flipped it over and written on it was this:

**_The way you look when I tell you I love you._**

"What's this, Emma?"

"Just keep it. Let's go." Emma stood and offered her hand to Regina, who took it. "Don't forget your flowers, sweetie."

Regina took her flowers from the table and let Emma lead her to the door that led to the front of the diner. On the door was a notecard with the number 2. She pulled it off and on the back was written:

**_How much you love Henry._**

She smiled, and they continued walking. When they got to the front door of the diner, there was another card, this one with the number 3 on it. She flipped it over and read:

**_Your grace and your heart._**

Regina shook her head, amazed at the blonde's ability to make her smile so much. Emma led Regina to the car and opened her door for her. They went to Regina's house and on the door was another notecard. Regina pulled off the fourth one and it said:

**_Your chocolate eyes._**

There was a fifth on the door to the family room. Regina's eyes registered the words:

**Your snarkiness.**

That one made her roll her eyes in amusement. There was one on the DVD remote, one on the player, one on the TV and one in the case for the movie they chose. Each one had something else. Regina lined them up on the coffee table, written on 9 different cards were the words:

**_The way you look when I tell you I love you._**

**_How much you love Henry._**

**_Your grace and your heart._**

**_Your chocolate eyes._**

**_Your snarkiness._**

**_Your smiles, all the different ones you give._**

**_The way you can't hide anything you feel from me._**

**_How much love you have to give._**

**_The things you'll never say._**

"What is this, Emma?"

"I have one more." She pulled one from her pocket and handed it to her. It read:

**_The perfection of your body and how desirable it is._**

"It's ten things I love you about. I know it's not the most comprehensive list, but I plan to tell you everyday for the rest of our lives all the things I love about you, this was just the list of some of my favorite things.

"You are amazing, Emma Swan, and I love you."

"I love you, too."


	2. Chapter 2- Time to Be

The next morning, Emma woke up next to Regina and smiled. Her arm was lying over the brunette's bare waist and her leg was between the other woman's. There was a peaceful look on the darker features in front of her and Emma leaned forward to kiss Regina's full lips. Once their lips touched, Regina's mouth turned into a smile and she leaned her forehead against Emma's, opening her eyes.

"Good morning, dear," Regina said softly. "How did you sleep?"

"The best I ever have in my life. I could get used to this."

"Me too. I need to get breakfast and a shower, though."

"No, stay, we don't have Henry today and it's our first stay over since Neverland, just stay in bed with me."

"You being here is a small reason to stay in bed, I'm going to need more though, dear."

Emma grinned and moved the arm that was resting on Regina's waist. She put her hand on the bed next to the brunette and moved to straddle the brunette. She slowly laced each hand with the brunette's next to Regina's head on the bed. She moved her upper half down so that their faces were centimeters apart. Her lips moved gently against Regina's. Their mouths melded together as though they should never part, and Emma never wanted to. She moved her right hand to the face below her and held it tenderly.

"How's this on the track for motivation?" Emma whispered before moving her mouth back against Regina's.

"Mmm, delicious," Regina moaned between kisses from the blonde. The two moved with each other for several moments but were interrupted by Regina's phone ringing. The brunette pulled it from the nightstand and saw that it was Henry and answered.

"Hey mom, I was just checking to see how you and ma are?"

"Henry, sweetie, it's really early. We were about to make breakfast." She responded sweetly, knowing that at his young age he would hopefully have no idea what they would be up to.

"Sorry, you're usually up really early."

"I know, dear. Emma, however, is a late sleeper and I'm having issues getting her out of bed." Emma chuckled softly next to Regina at the comment. "But, I'll make her call you when she does, ok, sweetie?"

"Love you mom!"

"I love you, too, Henry." Regina tossed the phone to the side, letting it drop to the floor.

"Can't get me out of bed, eh? I think it's more like you don't _want_ to get me out of bed."

"Maybe, but I don't think our son needs to know that. I said it merely so that he would make sure to tell your mother and it would give her an ulcer, or something."

"You drive me insane." Emma said the words jokingly, but Regina smirked and kissed her, pushing against her and flipping the blonde onto her back so that she could be the one hovering. She pressed her lips to Emma's, licking the blonde's bottom lip to gain entry to her mouth. Lips parted, Emma's tongue pushed back against Regina's. The brunette moved her hands down the lithe body beneath her; there was nothing for her to remove from the body, as the women had never gotten redressed.

"You were saying?" Regina whispered as Emma's body shivered with pleasure beneath her. Soon they were making love, and Regina especially felt blissful. Emma felt so much love rolling off of her for the other woman, but she felt strange when they were this connected. She felt a strange physical pull to the woman that felt like it was literally in the pit of her stomach, she felt ill if she moved away from Regina, and that bothered her.

The women got up and dressed themselves, heading down to the kitchen. Regina pulled out the fixings to make green pepper, bacon and cheddar omelets for them. Emma sat at the island, watching her, smiling.

"I'm really, really happy, Regina."

"Oh? Is that because I sleep with you and then make you food?"

Emma laughed. "No, I'm still a woman, you know, my needs aren't as primal as that."

"Oh trust me, I know you're a woman. A very attractive, sexy woman."

Emma blushed. "Takes one to know one."

Regina rolled her eyes teasingly at the blonde's young response. "Anyway, you were telling me your needs aren't so primal?"

"Well, that wasn't the point of the conversation that I wanted to bring up. I love you, and I started falling in love with you before I knew what we had was true love, I'm pretty sure I did anyway. You challenged me, all the time, and I hated it, but I found it pretty hot, too. Anyway, being with you now, it makes me _s_o happy. I wish I could explain it better."

"Emma, what are you trying to explain? We know we love each other, and we know how special what we have is, so without all the lavish declarations of love, just say it, dear."

"I don't know. You make me happy, I've never been this happy. This is because of you."

"You make me happy, as well. Now, eat your omelet and maybe I can make you happy in the shower." The brunette smiled, taking a seat next to Emma. She nudged the blonde gently with her shoulder. Emma smiled back at her and the two ate their breakfast in comfortable silence.

SQSQSQSQSQSQSQ

When their day was over, they drove separately to the Charming's apartment so Regina could bring Henry home with her. They stood outside at the door for a minute wanting a few more minutes alone before returning to normal, what was normal for them, life. Emma leaned against the wall outside the door, holding one of Regina's hands in her own. She pulled the brunette to her, leaning in to kiss her. When they broke the gentle kiss, Emma rubbed the tip of her nose against Regina's.

"I'll miss you," Emma whispered.

Regina hummed. "When do I see you again?"

"Lunch on Monday?"

"Sounds good, I think I can manage a day and a half without you."

"I'm going to try really hard to."

"You're the one who didn't want to move in," Regina teased.

"Only because I want to take you on another date."

"No. This one is mine. Emma, would you like to have dinner with me on Tuesday?"

Emma nodded enthusiastically. "I would love to, thanks."

Regina placed her hand on Emma's cheek, leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips, a quick kiss, knowing she planned to do it forever. "Have a good night, tell Henry I'm waiting in the car."

Emma nodded and watched Regina walk away from her toward her car. She tried to school her features before going into the apartment, but the second she was inside the door Henry ran into her arms, squeezing her tightly around her back.

"Hey, kid. Your mom is waiting in the car for you," she said, hugging him back.

"You look happy."

"I am happy, kid. Go get your stuff."

Henry walked around the small apartment, gathering his things. While he did so, he continued inquiring. "Did you have a fun date with mom?"

"I did. We had dinner and we watched a movie. Then yesterday she made me breakfast and we baked cookies. Or, she baked them while I watched, but they're there for you. You tell her I said you can have as many as you want"

Henry nodded and hugged her goodbye, calling out to his grandparents a goodbye. Once she shut the door, no one in sight, she leaned against it, smiling like a schoolgirl.

"Good date?" Charming asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Who's asking?" Emma asked.

"Just your dad, wondering why his daughter looks that happiest he's ever seen her."

"Yep. Dad, Regina is wonderful. I know that's probably not a sentiment you hold, but she's really very sweet. And she's really good at cooking, and baking."

"You sound like your father," Snow said, walking into the kitchen. "When he discovered how good I became at cooking here he was quite pleased."

"I know this is weird for you guys, and I appreciate that you're willing to hear me out when I talk about her. I really love her, and it isn't just True Love, it's more. She and Henry, they're everything."

Snow nodded and David smiled. "Emma, we want you to be happy, your True Love is the best way for that to happen. We just don't want her to take you away from us, again," David stated.

"I have my parents, I have my true love and my son, I'm not going anywhere. Even when I move in with Regina, you aren't going to lose me. That is, unless you guys don't accept her, that's your choice, but if you can't accept her, it'll be my choice to make, and I don't want to hurt you guys, but my choice will be her. It will always be her. She's been left too many times, and I won't leave her, I never want to leave her. I love her."

"We understand that, Emma. We won't ever make you choose because that would be cruel, and like you said, you would choose her and that would be a stupid decision for us to ask you to make. I told you it would take time, and it will, but we really will try, Emma."

Emma nodded and went up to get some rest, she hadn't really rested much all day, she was making up for lost time with Regina.

She decided to send Regina a text before going to bed.

**I miss you already.**

_I miss you too, dear. I didn't think I would this much, apparently I was kidding myself._

**Damn right you miss me.**

_Have a good night, dear._

**Did you just roll your eyes at me? Don't do that, your face might get stuck that way.**

_You should use that line on Henry, he might be young enough to still believe it._

**It's been nice flirting with you, my love. Sleep well. Dream of me.**

_Likewise. I love you._

**I love you more.**

Regina didn't respond to the last message. Let Emma sweat a little, Emma had made her the week that she didn't see or speak to her. Still, she couldn't imagine going to bed happier than she felt right in that moment, not until Emma moved in anyway. She knew Emma wanted to wait a while, and it may even be looked at as sensible, but Regina knew that neither one of them would last much longer without waking up next to each other every morning, and going to bed beside each other each night.

* * *

**Hope you guys love this as much as you loved Neverland Connection. Your reviews are like crack to me, so please, please feel free to leave them! Sorry if there were any mistakes! Much love to all my followers and readers 3**


	3. Chapter 3 - The beauty Love Creates

**A?N-Sorry this has taken FOREVER to post, I got distracted with my Christmas themed story, but that one is finished up, so now I can concentrate more on this one :) Hope you guys like it! Reviews are greatly appreciated! Suggestions are always welcome, too, even if I don't use them they always create inspiration!**

* * *

The weekend dragged for both women, but through frequent texts and phone calls, they managed. Late Sunday, Emma was too excited at the prospect of seeing Regina the next day for lunch so she couldn't sleep. She had tried everything, counting sheep, counting the cracks in her walls and ceiling. She tried to read a book but couldn't concentrate, put on a movie but the romantic plot just made her think of Regina even more. Finally, close to midnight she pulled out her phone.

**Are you asleep?**

After a moment she got the response she wasn't sure she would receive.

_If I wasn't I wouldn't be able to answer you. You shouldn't ask such silly questions._

**I miss you. And I can't sleep.**

_I'm sorry. And I miss you as well, darling. _

**I can't wait to see you at lunch. What time should we make it?**

_How about an early lunch? 11?_

**How about breakfast that never ends and we just take the day off and spend all of our time in your bedroom.**

_Not going to happen, dear._

**11 is good. I love you, go get your beauty sleep. **

_You too. Try to sleep well, my love. I'll see you in less than half day._

Regina settled against her pillows with the book in her hands, setting her phone on her nightstand. She knew that how quickly she had fallen into this pattern with Emma was not smart. She couldn't help the thoughts that ran through her mind late at night when she was allow and her guard was down.

_Love is weakness, Regina._

But her mother wasn't here. Her mother would never be here again. She knew she should ignore the thoughts that crashed through her mind. Going back now would be ridiculous; she could never unlove Emma, not that she would want to. She put her book down and laid down, trying her best to fall asleep.

The next morning Emma woke around 9, pleased that she only had two hours before seeing Regina. Her stomach was churning and she assumed it was because she had fallen asleep so late. She stopped at Granny's on her way to work and grabbed a coffee and a bear claw, she knew that eating a big breakfast would spoil her appetite for lunch with Regina. When she was at the office she vomited and wondered why. She ignored it and went on with her day, as her stomach felt better after expelling her breakfast. She called Regina, excited that it would be soon. Regina told her she would call to order their lunch and asked if Emma minded bringing it to her, she was swamped with paperwork after the weekend and figured this way she could work until Emma got there and once Emma left, instead of taking extra time to leave. Emma agreed, willing to do anything to please Regina.

When it was time to head to Granny's she pulled on her jacket, locking up the station on her way out. She was in an exceptionally good mood and smiled at everyone she passed. She knew she was in too deep with Regina, but she really didn't care. She hadn't let herself love someone like this since Neal and even though he broke her heart, love had felt good at the time. Now, when she knew Regina would never do anything to hurt her, it felt even better, tremendously so. Granny brought out her food and told her to have a good lunch. Emma was pleased with the amount of people who were quite forgiving of Regina, once they had been reminded of all the help she had given the town since the curse broke, how many times she had saved them all.

When she got to Regina's office, the secretary told her that she was expected and to enter as she pleased, she did so. When she walked in she was greeted with a wide smile and a soft, quick kiss.

"Hello, beautiful. How has your day been so far?" Emma asked.

"I have far too much paperwork and I'm exhausted. I did make a plan for our date tomorrow evening, though. Would you like to see if your parents would keep Henry for the evening and night?"

"Of course." Emma gave Regina a dopey smile. "What time should I come over?"

"It's supposed to be nice tomorrow, so I was thinking we could have a walk together or something before our date, would you like to come over around 5?"

"Sounds wonderful. How was your weekend?"

"Long. Henry and I did a lot together, though. He seems a lot more willing to spend time with me and seemingly enjoying it."

"Yeah, he talks about you constantly when we're together. And about us, you and me, I mean."

Regina cocked one eyebrow. "Does he?"

"Yeah. I live for my time with him, especially when I don't get to see you." Regina looked somewhat confused, so Emma elaborated. "Because I hear about your time with him and everything you're teaching him and I can almost pretend to be there with you guys."

"Emma, you are absolutely always welcome to join us. You really don't even need to ask, just let me know so I can make sure you know where we are if we aren't home."

Emma's eyes and smile brightened at the brunette's words. "Really?"

"Yes, dear. You are Henry and my family, you are always to be included if you so wish."

"Awesome and uh, likewise. Actually, do you want to have dinner with me and Henry tonight at Granny's?"

"I would enjoy that, thank you Emma."

The women ate their lunches and chattered about their weekends, then parted ways with plans for Emma to pick Henry up from school and meet Regina at Granny's at six. The rest of the day passed fairly quickly because Emma received several phone calls about stupid and petty things. There was also a car accident and she had to take care of giving a ticket and helping get the damaged cars towed to Tillman's. When Emma picked Henry up from school she was exhausted. They headed to her family's apartment where she showered and changed before the two cuddled up on the couch to watch a movie.

"Mama, what's for dinner?"

"We're going to meet your mom at Granny's."

"Really? Cool! It kind of sucks splitting time between you two. I understand why, I just miss you when I'm with her and I miss her when I'm with you."

"I know, kid. I'm sorry. You know, though, your mom and I both love you and we both love each other. It's just gonna take a little bit longer until we're ready to live together. It'll happen though I'm sure of it, and when it does, this time will seem so small in comparison."

"You really, really love her, don't you?"

"I really, really do."

After their conversation the two left to meet with Regina and the family had a good dinner together, Henry chattering through most of it while the women stole glances and smiles at each other. One moment when Henry was talking about a school project, Regina had her chin resting on her balled up first. She was looking at Emma like she had never seen anyone so beautiful in her entire life, like Emma was her sun in the gloomy days and her moon on the darkest nights. Emma looked up and noticed, her cheeks flushing from the passionate look she was receiving and gave a bashful smile to the brunette.

When they had finished their meal, Regina hugged both Henry and Emma goodnight, stopping to kiss the blonde sweetly on the mouth. They exchanged words that they would see each other the next day and headed their separate ways. Emma's stomach turned while she and Henry walked home. She questioned her decision to not live with Regina every day since she had said not yet. There was no need to rush things, no reason to move more quickly than necessary.

Emma slept fitfully, sharing the bed with Henry always did that to her, so instead of sleeping she thought about what Regina would be doing for their date tomorrow. She knew Regina was more guarded right now than she was, but that was ok, the brunette could take her time if she needed to. She had been hurt deeper than Emma had, in life, so Emma wouldn't be pushy and Emma would accept what Regina could give her, which so far was so much more than she had ever received.

The next day passed easily. Emma and Henry started it with coffee for her and cocoa for him and breakfast at Granny's running into Regina who, too, had come in for coffee. She sat with them until it was time for her to get to the office and Henry to head to school. They kissed goodbye, and as Regina walked away, Emma stared at the brunette who was dressed especially nicely in her usual black slacks and the blue-gray shirt that Emma had once worn. She was wearing a black blazer but no jacket since it was an especially nice day.

Henry coaxed her out of her thoughts and caught her eyes checking out his other mom. He proceeded to drag her to the bus stop and told her that she was gross. She chuckled easily at his comment and grinned at herself for being so amused. Never having been one drawn to women before, she was amazed at how easily she had found Regina completely and utterly attractive. The brunette who held her affections was, quite literally, walking sex appeal. Emma turned her attention to her son who was about to get on the bus. She reminded him that he was to come to the station after school, then she would take him home to stay the evening and night with his grandparents. He nodded his understanding and boarded the bus. The rest of the day was busy, so she was pleased when Henry walked into the station and she set him to work on his homework for the last hour before they left.

Regina was busy making last minute arrangements for their date. She called the only person she knew would actually be willing to help her, Ruby. She had left home early and the flowers she had ordered arrived so she set them on the table in the foyer and headed upstairs to change. Her plans for the evening required more casual wear so she pulled out a brand new pair of skinny jeans she had purchased recently. She knew her body was appealing, it was something she had never had a problem knowing, and she knew the blonde particularly liked her backside, and in jeans it looked rather nice. She pulled on the dark, tight material. She changed her blouse into a deep red, thick, v-neck shirt with 3/4 length sleeves. The doorbell rang so Regina retrieved the items she needed and opened the door to reveal Ruby. She handed the items off and told her where to put them, thanking the other brunette for her assistance. Slipping on her dark brown leather riding boots, she heard the doorbell ring again.

When the door was opened, Emma raised her eyebrows. "You own _jeans?"_

"No, Emma, I just decided to borrow some from a friend, I really enjoy sharing clothes with all of my numerous girlfriends."

"Funny. You look very beautiful and um, sexy in jeans, you should only take them off for cleansing and bedroom purposes," Emma choked out, stepping closer to put her arms around Regina's waist and kissing her softly.

"Here," Regina started, grabbing the vase of flowers off the foyer table when they were inside. "I got these for you." She handed the vase to Emma.

"They're beautiful. Thank you, Regina."

"The daisies mean "loyal love" and the daffodils, they mean, um," Regina stuttered, blushing slightly. Emma kissed her cheek and raised her eyebrows questioningly. "They mean "the sun is always shining when I'm with you."

Emma looked thoughtful for a moment, and then smiled widely, setting the flowers back onto the table and pulling Regina in for a long, wet and passionate kiss. "Thank you so much, they're perfect. They're the sweetest thing I have ever been given." Regina smiled and nodded, dragging Emma's hand to lead her back out of the house. She looked at the boot the blonde was wearing and smiled, keeping their fingers intertwined while she led Emma away from the house.

"What are you smiling about?"

"I was just being certain that you were wearing good walking shoes, those boots should suffice."

"You're a mysterious woman, Regina Mills."

"Stick around and maybe you'll unravel all of my mysteries."

They walked to sandy ground where Henry's castle once was before Regina had it torn down. Regina had send Ruby to lay out a quilt and bring the picnic basket she had prepared for them. Emma smiled brightly when she saw the display.

"For me?"

"Of course. For _us_." She paused for a moment, walking with Emma to the quilt and sitting down. "Henry and I came here the other day, and we discussed that day when it was torn down. He isn't mad about it anymore, he said something about being glad his new castle was cooler because it looks like my old castle. He's a funny child."

"He really is."

"I know that the castle was your spot with him, but I was thinking maybe it could be our spot, too." The blonde just smiled at her, seeming to be at a loss for words. "Anyway, you're probably hungry. Would you like some wine?" Without waiting for Emma to agree, Regina poured two glasses and pulled out the spread she had prepared. There was potato salad, tuna macaroni casserole, chicken salad sandwiches on croissants, and cheesecake for dessert. She made the both of them a plate and they ate in an almost uncomfortable silence.

Regina wasn't sure what was going on with the blonde, normally she would be eating for several minutes after Regina finished, because she would be talking so much. This evening was almost completely silent, save for compliments on the meal and thanks for her refill on the wine.

"Emma, is everything alright?"

"Yes, why?"

"You're very quiet this evening, like you're mind is elsewhere."

"Sorry, it is. I'm sorry I'm being weird, I'm just stunned that someone as amazing as you would want me. Until I came to Storybrooke no one ever really wanted me, at least not in the long run. And when you basically told me that I make the sun shine for you, I guess I began worrying. What if I hurt you by mistake?"

"As long as you don't do it on purpose, we'll be fine. I know we're a strange combination but it's almost exactly true that opposites attract, in our case anyway."

"Ok. Good because I really just want to enjoy my night with you. Dinner was amazing, and you're amazing. You certainly know the way to a woman's heart"

"I'd like to know more about the many ways to get to yours."

"Didn't you know? It's not mine anymore. You have to feel it too, right? Ever since we took our hearts out and they bound together with magic showing our true love, I feel an extra strong tie to you. And really, I wouldn't have it any other way,"

"I do feel it, I wasn't sure if you would since your magic isn't quite as trained as mine."

"We should go back to your place and make out." Emma was running her index finger slowly up and down Regina's thigh, tracing patterns against the denim.

"Oh? You _just_ want to make out with me?"

"I never said that it couldn't progress."

The women packed up and carried the remains of the picnic back to Regina's house, keeping their hands linked the entire way. They enjoyed their night together like they had never touched a night in their lives and not at all like they had just spent two days doing the same thing less than a week prevous.


	4. Chapter 4-Complications

**Hey guys! Sorry updates haven't been as frequent as I would like! Please review! I need them like I need coffee and chocolate! This chapter is pretty short, but I have most of the next chapter written so I should update again soon!**

* * *

The next week and a half passed by quickly, the women spending as much time together, both alone and with Henry, as possible. They had enjoyed three more dates since the picnic, not including their frequent shared lunches and the dinners that the trio had as a family. When Friday came, the night they had begun having their family dinners at Regina's, the women had their first official fight as a couple. After dinner had been eaten and dishes had been done, Henry was put to bed and the women were in the study. Emma asked Regina if she minded Neal having Henry for Saturday and Sunday, at the man's request.

"Absolutely not!" Regina had snapped quickly.

"Why?"

"Because he's an idiot. I don't want him around my son."

"Our son."

Regina shook her head, only half listening to Emma. "What?"

"Our son, Regina, he's mine, too. I didn't bring this up to ask your permission. We are both his mothers and while, yes, you deserve slightly more say, I deserve a voice when it comes to Henry, too. I understand you don't trust him and I understand why, but did you not wanting me in Henry's life work out?" Regina glared at the bad memory of their past. "Sweetie, I know that's not very fair to bring up, but you know Henry snuck off all the time to see me, because he wanted a relationship with me. Don't you think he'll do that if you forbid him to see Neal? Wouldn't you rather know where he's at?"

Regina sighed. "I don't care, Emma, I do NOT want him near that…that thief! That man is bad news, Emma."

"Thief? I was a thief, Regina. And you—"

"What? I, WHAT, Emma? I'm the Evil Queen? Of course! It's _always_ going to come back to that! Well excuse me, _I_ raised him! You said yourself that no one could have done better by him! The Evil Queen can go back to doing it alone if I have to, so _Savior_, feel free to leave!" Regina was shouting, harder than she had shouted in a long time. Her throat was clenching tighter with every word she said, fighting the break in her voice that she felt creeping into her throat.

Emma recoiled as though she had been slapped. "Regina, that's…that isn't what I meant. I was just saying, you can't judge someone by their past, by who they once were. You should know that better than anyone. You've overcome more than anyone I know. I…I just ask that you give him a chance."

Regina looked sharply at Emma then her eyes flickered down, filled with uncertainty. "It's hard for me to let him go. It's one thing giving him to you, you can protect him, but I don't trust that Neal can."

"He would never let anything happen to Henry, Regina."

"I don't like him."

"You didn't like me."

"Why are you so intent on this, so insistent on defending him?"

"What?"

"Should I be concerned?"

"What are you talking about?" Emma asked, confusion written across her face. Deep blue-green eyes searched dark features until finally, realization colored her face. "Regina," she started, voice full of love and reassurance. She raised her hand to hold the brunette's chin and turn her face to look into deep chocolate eyes. "Look at me, look into my eyes and tell me you don't honestly believe that could be it. I love _you_, Regina. Not Neal, not Hook, not anyone on this earth other than you."

Regina enclosed herself, wrapping her arms around her torso, hands grasping at her elbows. Her beautiful eyes pooled with crystal tears, eyelids blinking rapidly so as not to let them spill over. The strong jaw clenched and the older woman tried to stop her emotions from exposing her, giving her away in her moment of weakness. Emma moved closer and unfolded the brunette's arms, pulling them up to wrap them around her shoulders following the action by putting her own arms around the tiny waist of her lover. She leaned her forehead against Regina's and whispered.

"Sweetie…Regina… I need you to be happy for me to be happy, so if this is something you really don't want, then we won't do it. I just think that having a father in his life is something that will be really good for Henry, and you know, something that may help us out as the kid gets closer to you know, puberty and stuff. I mean, that is unless you want my father to be his father figure."

"You're not helping your case, I actually sort of like your father, now. It's Snow I still have the issue with." The blonde chuckled.

"Just think about it, ok?" Emma kissed Regina deeply, passionately and circled her hands on perfect hips and an ample bottom. She broke from the kiss to whisper, "so, our first fight, huh?"

"I suppose so." Regina captured the pink lips with her own again. She wrapped her fingers in curls, pulling the blonde closer to her, their lips and tongues battling for dominance. Emma pulled away.

"So, that means we deserve some make up sex?"

"I think that can be arranged."

When Emma woke up in the morning, she reached over and found the spot next to her empty. She opened her eyes and looked around the room finding no sign of Regina. Shuffling around in the drawer of things she kept at the mansion, she found a sports bra and pulled a pair of Regina's lace panties from the top drawer, sliding both on. She wrapped a robe around her body, tying it at the waist and opened the bedroom door to accept the warm smell of coffee brewing and headed downstairs to get some. Regina was standing in the kitchen cooking French toast when Emma entered. Walking up to the brunette, she slid her arms around her waist, pushing her body against the strong back of her lover, enveloping the woman in her arms.

"Good morning, dear."

"Good morning, sweetie. How did you sleep?"

"I always sleep better when you're here. You're completely ruining me."

"It's all part of my ultimate plan."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I have to make you need me so you'll never turn me away."

"Mmm, well, dear, I do believe I've offered a situation that would allow you to be here every night for the rest of your life and you didn't seem too keen on accepting, so I do believe that your ultimate plan is only making things harder for the both of us."

"I see your point," Emma said. She paused to kiss the crook of Regina's neck. Shrugging, she continued, "oh well."

"Would you go wake Henry? Tell him breakfast is ready."

Emma nodded and left to do as she was told. Regina poured herself a refill of coffee, poured a cup for Emma and put some juice in a glass for Henry. Taking everything to the table, she set three place settings and smiled to herself, thankful more everyday that she finally had a family. When Emma and Henry entered the dining room, Regina smiled and took her seat, waiting for them to follow suit.

"Henry," Regina started, looking at her son. She felt like she needed to savor every moment with him, he was growing before her eyes and she couldn't always cope with it. When he looked back at her with raised eyebrows, she continued, "how would you feel about spending today and tomorrow with your father?"

"Really, mom? That would be awesome! Are…are you sure?"

"Yes. Emma and I spoke about it yesterday and we think that it would be good for you to have a male figure in your life, and since he's your father it couldn't hurt."

"Thanks, mom, ma, you guys are the best."

"He'll be here in just under an hour. When you're done eating go take your shower and pack your bag for the night over, alright?" Henry nodded vigorously, practically shoveling the food into his mouth. When he ran upstairs for his shower, Emma turned to Regina and covered one of the slender hands with her own.

"Regina, I'm really proud of you, and I don't want you to take that in a condescending way, I just really, really am. What made you change your mind?"

"I thought about it and you are right, Henry needs his father just like he needs the two of us. I was being selfish, wanting Henry just for us. Neal proved himself in Neverland, though he was almost completely useless and I hate what he did to you, but that is no reason to keep Henry from happiness, that's all I've ever wanted anyway, for Henry to be happy."

"God, you really are the best mom."

"You know, I do believe that opens up the house for the weekend."

The blonde raised her eyebrows and Regina winked at her, continuing her meal.

Several more weeks passed until they had been back from Neverland for nearly two months. Emma still hadn't agreed to move in with Regina and Henry, but the women saw each other nearly everyday and when they weren't together, they exchanged texts and phone calls. When it was time for their Thursday lunch, Emma walked into Granny's to pick up their food and saw Ruby smiling from the counter. The two talked while Emma waited for her and Regina's food.

"Still not feeling well, Em? You look tired," Ruby said, concerned.

"You sound like my mother," Emma drawled. "I've been having a lot of late nights without the relaxation of late mornings."

"You know it's true love, you guys can slow down, you have forever."

"So much time to make up for, Ruby." Granny brought out the food and Emma said her goodbyes, heading to Regina's office. When she arrived she was greeted with a beautiful and sincere smile behind exhausted eyes.

"Hello, dear," Regina said, standing to greet Emma. After the blonde set their food onto the desk, the brunette wrapped her arms around her lover's waist and kissed her. "Are you still coming for dinner tomorrow night?"

"Of course," Emma replied, kissing Regina again. "Should I ask my parents—" she was cut off by a gag which caused her to throw herself over Regina's trash can vomiting.

"Emma, dear, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just stressed, sweetie," was the response she gave. She took the tissue that Regina offered her and wiped her mouth, standing back up.

"Alright, then. What were you saying before?"

"I _was_ going to attempt to seductively ask if I should give Henry to my parents for the night, but the sexy part is out the window."

"That's fine. I'm not at my best for that anyway."

"Huh?"

"My cycle, darling."

"Oh." Emma's brow furrowed in contemplation.

"But maybe they should take him tonight and tomorrow night and I'll care for you."

"Nah, I've been like this for a while, actually, since the ship on the way back from Neverland. I think its just nerves."

Regina had many expressions that crossed her face, the final one being anger mixed with pain. "Whom did you sleep with?" Regina accused.

"What?" Emma asked, confused.

"_Baelfire_? Hook? Damn it, Emma! Who was it?" Regina yelled, pushing Emma's shoulder with one hand.

"Regina, I have _no_ idea what you're talking about."

"We've been back almost two months, I'm on my second cycle and I have no recollection of you having one since we've been back. And now you're telling me you've been nauseous since Neverland?"

Emma's eyes widened and she looked shocked. "Regina, no! No, I swear! You're the only person I've been with _at all_ since I came to Storybrooke. I'll swear it on anything!"

"Last I checked, a woman can't impregnate another woman, Emma!"


	5. Chapter 5-True Love

**A/N-This chapter is pretty long, I hope you all like it! I know I tend to be a dialogue heavy writer, so I tried to have a good amount of descriptive paragraphs and character development. Also, I know I tend to be a really fluffy writer, but I'm gonna try to have some more conflict coming up soon. Let me know your opinions on that! I loveeee suggestions because it's the readers that make the story! Reviews and PMs are always appreciated!**

* * *

_"Last I checked, a woman can't impregnate another woman, Emma!"_

"Sweetie…Regina, I swear I would never, ever cheat on you. I love you so much, can't you just believe me?"

"How am I supposed to, Emma?"

"Can we go see Gold? Please? Or better yet, Whale for a test, then if we find out I actually _am_ pregnant, see Gold after that?"

Regina told her secretary to cancel her two o'clock meeting and hold her calls and the women proceeded to walk to Regina's car. They were silent for the drive over to the hospital, Emma wanting to prove to Regina that she wouldn't be unfaithful, but also not wanting to push her too hard and upset her more. Regina, on the other hand, had a thousand thoughts running through her mind. She felt betrayed, hurt, confused and angry. She wanted to believe Emma wouldn't cheat on her, but if the blonde was pregnant then the evidence proved to the contrary.

Emma's pregnancy test with Dr. Whale was positive and he told her she appeared to be 9 or 10 weeks along. She couldn't even bring herself to be excited, even though she knew it was somehow Regina's. She hadn't been with anyone else for it to even possibly be someone else's. However, until the brunette accepted it, she knew she wouldn't be able to feel happy or celebrate it. They left and headed to the pawn and antique shop. Mr. Gold greeted them with a smile, their relationship on much better terms since he had helped so greatly in returning Henry to safety.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, dearies?" the man greeted after they had closed the door behind them.

"I'm pregnant," Emma blurted out.

"Congratulations, Emma."

"Oddly enough, it was naturally conceived. We've had no procedures, but I haven't been with anyone but Regina in a long, long time."

"I see." He looked to Regina. "And you don't believe her, it seems?" Regina gave a short shake of her head.

"So, do you know anything about this? Obviously it's possible, but have you heard of it before?" Emma pushed.

"I can't say I have. True Love is the most powerful magic of all, though. Regina, you know that already, dearie. I can't say I'm surprised. You two display a love stronger than any True Love I've ever seen, my own with Belle included."

"Really?" Regina asked, surprised.

"Stronger than _any_ you've seen? Why is that, do you think?"

"I'm not completely certain, but if I guessed, I would say it is because you are equals." When Emma raised her eyebrows and Regina raised one eyebrow, both women looking inquisitive, he continued. "You both have magic, it puts you on even ground. You're both willful and powerful women. I suppose it could also be because you've performed the binding ceremony."

"What?" Emma asked, surprised. "We've never performed a ceremony."

"On the contrary, Emma. When you both held out each other's heart and the ties bound them together that was all it took. It's a seven second ceremony, do you recall it well, dearie?"

"Oh. Um, yeah I guess I didn't know that's what it was. Did you, Regina?"

"I didn't know it was anything official, no. I just knew that if we put our hearts together and we have True Love, then our hearts would prove it."

"Oh."

"Anyway, the best thing I can say is even though the circumstances may be questionable, Regina, trust Emma when she tells you that there's no other possibility. If it still matters when the baby comes, do a blood test."

The women thanked him for his help and left the shop. Emma took Regina's hand and with her thumb, caressed the soft skin on the back of her hand between her index finger and thumb.

"Sweetie, please believe me," Emma began, when they were back in Regina's car. "I would never do anything to hurt you, Regina. I love you so much that it's hurting me. All I want to do is make you happy and right now I can see that you're hurting, that you don't fully believe me. I hate that you don't believe me and I hate that it's causing you pain. Believe me, Regina, please." Regina looked at Emma with sadness in her eyes. There was nothing she wanted more than to believe her. "Look, we have one more place we can go. Let's go see Mother Superior."

Regina nodded and the two women drove to the convent. When they arrived and were both out of the car, Emma took Regina's face into her hands, cupping her cheeks. Leaning forward, the blonde pushed her lips to the tan forehead in front of her and then dropped her hand to grip the soft and warm hand of the other woman. They walked together to the Blue Fairy, who was standing outside. They were greeted with a weary smile as they approached.

"Regina, Emma, how are you two?" Blue asked.

"Fine, Blue, and you?" Regina responded, curtly.

"We have a question, if you wouldn't mind," Emma stated.

"Certainly. What can I answer for you."

"Is it possible for a child to be conceived out of True Love?" Emma blurted.

"Oh. Well, I supposed. I know of a couple in the Enchanted Forest, the woman was told she was unable to conceive, but they loved each other and they concentrated on it so much that they were able to conceive."

"So, um, say two women made love and they have True Love, and they uh, both have magic, do you think they could conceive a child together?"

The Fairy's eyes widened, looking between Emma and Regina thoughtfully before she responded. "You know, sure, I think it could be possible. If you wanted a family badly enough and thought terribly hard on it, I imagine magic could be able to make that happen."

"Do you really think so?" Regina asked, sounding hopeful for the first time since Emma arrived at her office that morning.

"I do. True Love is the most powerful magic in the world. I don't think that many things are impossible when it comes down to it. Is there anything else I can do for you ladies?"

"Nope, I think that's all. Thanks Mother Superior," Emma rushed, pulling Regina away.

Once again in the car, the women didn't speak. Regina drove them to the mayoral mansion and they went inside. After closing the door behind herself, Regina leaned against the wood, eyes closed and head down. She had two fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. Emma sat down on the steps that led from the foyer to the rest of the house, waiting for Regina to look at her. Regina kicked off her black stilettos and walked toward Emma, sitting down next to her. The women angled their bodies toward each other so one of each of their knees was touching. Emma stared into the chocolate eyes. She looked afraid and tired and Emma could see the pain in the depths of brown.

"Emma," Regina began as she held the gaze of the greenish eyes, moving her hands she took Emma's into her own. "Do you swear to me that you haven't ben with anyone else since we began?"

Earnestly, Emma responded. "Regina, I swear. You are the only person I have been with since I came to Storybrooke. I would never be unfaithful to you, and even if I had been with someone else before we were together that could have caused this, I would tell you if I was carrying someone else's child. You're mine and I'm yours, for life I hope. I will never lie to you, I promise that."

The words must have convinced the brunette because her body fell into that of the blonde. Her shoulders were shaking with sobs, her mouth emitting sounds of quiet chokes.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Emma asked, rubbing soothing circles on Regina's back. After several moments of holding her, the brunette sat up and composed herself.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you," Regina whispered.

"Regina, it's ok, I probably wouldn't have believed you, either, if you had told me the same thing."

"I love you, Emma."

"I love you, too, Regina. You will always have my heart."

"Alright my dear, when will you be moving in then?"

"What? I thought we agreed to take it slowly?"

Regina chuckled. "Slowly? My Emma, don't you think maybe it's a little late for slow? We haven't even been together 3 months, we aren't married, or even engaged and you're pregnant, with _our_ magical baby. We are way too far past taking it slow."

Emma smiled sheepishly. "I guess that's true. We, uh, we really do things backwards, don't we?"

"Yes. And, I'm sorry, Emma. It's my fault."

"What do you mean?"

"That night, after we talked about having more kids, being a family, when we made love, that was all I could think about. I mean, how happy you make me, how much I love you and how much I couldn't wait until we could expand our family. Since we saw Blue, I've been thinking a lot about that and how it is probably because of that."

"Oh. You know, it doesn't bother me. I mean, I maybe wanted more months of lots and lots of sex before expanding our family, but how could I be upset when you and Henry and this baby are exactly what I've wanted my whole life, a family?"

"Very well, dear. And, despite your attempt at changing the conversation, as long as you're pregnant with _my_ child, I'd prefer you to be living with me. I can help you that way, and be part of your pregnancy. I don't think I can carry a child, I would like to experience as much of you carrying ours as I can." Regina ended the sentence sadly; a topic for her that always seemed to be touchy.

"Regina, I'm so sorry. I wish it could have been you, you deserve it."

"Anyway, you're perfect, you'll be a better carrier anyway. You know, less angry and not even a little bit evil."

"You aren't even a little bit evil either, Regina." Regina raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. Emma tried to focus on a different part of the news. "Regina, when do we tell Henry?"

"Well, you're still in your first trimester and miscarriages are less common once you begin the second, right?" Emma nodded. "So, we'll give it two or three weeks and tell him."

"Ok. What about the rest of the town?"

"I'll leave that up to you. Whenever you're ready, I'm ready."

"I guess I'll tell my parents shortly after we tell Henry, then I guess I'll tell people when I start getting fat."

Regina rolled her eyes at the comment. "Like you could ever really get fat. You may get a pregnancy belly but I've seen the way you eat and it's remarkable that you aren't fat already. You may literally have the world's best metabolism. Anyway, will you call Dr. Whale and I'll call Gold and Blue, we need to tell them that as of right now our news is strictly personal and to please keep their knowledge quiet."

Emma nodded, standing and extending her hand to Regina. They both pulled out their cell phones and made their phone calls. They ended them and Emma realized how exhausted she was. Regina must have been able to tell because she led the blonde to the master bedroom and helped her lay down on the bed. Emma fell asleep almost immediately.

Regina pulled her phone out again and called Snow. "Hello, dear." … "Would you or David mind picking Henry up after school and taking him home for the night?" … "Yes, everything is fine, but Emma appears to have fallen ill and I don't want Henry to get sick as well. I was thinking she should stay here tonight and I'll help her get better. I would have had her call you herself but she was so exhausted she fell asleep before I thought about it."…"Yes, thank you dear."

When Emma woke around 7 that evening, Regina brought her some homemade soup and a vitamin-enriched smoothie. "I know you aren't actually sick, dear, but you need to take good care of yourself and our baby. I expect that bear claws will be only a snack and you'll begin having a proper breakfast, lunch and dinner now, yes?"

Emma groaned and nodded her agreement smiling brightly. "You'll cook for me, right?"

Chuckling, Regina stated, "Yes, dear. I will cook for you."

The next morning after an amazing night of sleeping in Regina's arms and eating a delicious and big breakfast cooked by her love, Emma headed to the apartment she had been sharing with her parents. She decided to discuss her plans to move out first, do that, then later after it calmed down and when she began her second trimester, tell her parents about their pregnancy. Emma packed her boxes that morning and early afternoon, making sure to not pack any to heavy so as to avoid any lectures from Regina on taking it easy. Then she cleaned up her room so that Snow and David didn't have to clean up after her. She didn't have much to pack, since she had never been extremely sentimental, but it still took several hours to get everything done. Regina had planned to pick Emma up after dinner and help with the boxes so they could fill up both cars and get it all done in one trip. Snow and David arrived home shortly after Emma finished, surprised to find her home. Most Friday nights she spent with Regina and Henry, so she was rarely home. They were even more surprised when she asked them if they minded her staying for dinner.

"Of course, Emma, you're always welcome. Um, but is everything ok with Regina?" Snow asked.

"Of course, as perfect as ever. Why?"

"Well, you know, you're usually gone for Friday and most Saturdays. Not that we don't love you being here, we just want to make sure everything is ok."

"Yeah, actually, I need to talk to you guys."

"Oh? What about?"

"We should wait until dinner is finished."

They did so, eating and chatting easily about Henry and how much they had enjoyed keeping him the night before. David told Emma about how good Henry was getting at sword fighting with the wooden swords and that Henry was doing really well riding his horse. After they were all finished and the dishes were cleared and cleaned, the three sat back at the dinner table.

"So, honey, what did you want to talk about?" Snow asked curiously.

"Regina and I had a lot of time to talk last night while I wasn't feeling well. We agreed that it's time for me to move in with her and Henry now."

Snow raised his eyebrows and David choked on his water causing him to spit a lot of it out. After several moments of silence, Snow broke it.

"Now?" the raven-haired woman squeaked.

"Yeah, um, I sort of already packed my things."

"Isn't it sort of…sudden?"

"Maybe. But I've spent so much of my life being alone and wanting a love like what Regina gives me. And you know, she's been waiting like, over forty years or something for love like this. And this will be so great for Henry, he won't have to be pulled between two homes and visitations with Neal, he'll just have one home and visitations with Neal."

"But we just really got you back."

"Please don't use that defense, mom."

"Emma, I'm just now becoming comfortable with you dating Regina, this…this is way too soon."

"It's not. And I _really_ don't want to argue about this. I love her, like nothing and no one I have ever loved before and I'm ready to begin our lives together. I want us to be a family and you know, we want kids, more kids, I mean and I want to start being together so we have some time together before then."

"More kids? But how?"

"Seriously? I'm not discussing this. Look, it's not really up for debate, I'm not a child and I make decisions for myself. She is literally the love of my life, this is happening, no matter what you say."

Snow nodded and Charming smiled. He seemed to cope more easily with the news than Snow. He spoke, "Emma, we're happy for you that you found your family. Just remember, we're your parents and we fully expect you to come around often, maybe a weekly family dinner? All three of you, of course."

When David said that all three of them were welcome, Snow stared at his as though he had just grown a second head, but shook of the expression, though not before Emma saw it.

"You know, _mom_, Regina has told me beautiful things about your time together, when you were a child, before Leopold died. _You_ could be more gracious about her."

"You mean before _she_ had him killed?"

"If you knew the things your father had done to her, maybe you wouldn't hate her so much." Emma could feel her temper raising and her blood pressure, too. Her voice was getting louder in her anger.

"If he'd done anything bad to her, I'm sure she would have told me just to cause me more pain."

"No, because though she may have been vengeful, she did love you. You destroyed her happiness! I don't excuse what she did, but she had a terrible mother, why would she want to inflict a bad father onto you?"

"Emma, you have no idea what you're talking about. These things are far beyond your knowledge. You don't know what our world was!"

"Regina has answered everything I have asked. She's held back nothing, she has shown me her good and her bad! Don't you tell me I don't know! I know!" Emma was full blown shouting now, her anger raw and unchained. There was a knock at the door, so she lowered her voice. "That'll be Regina to help me bring my things _home_. David, can you please help?"

He nodded and Emma answered the door. Regina stood there with Henry, both looked shocked obviously having heard Emma's shouts. Emma and the two Mills' made their way up to Emma's former room to gather her things and David took Emma's box from her so she could grab another from the bedroom. Snow sat at the dining room table and watched the four shuffle in and out a few times, each time leaving with more of Emma's limited items. David and Emma hugged goodbye outside because Emma didn't want to go back in and fuel the fire even more. Henry got into Regina's car, staying by his brunette mother's side more and more since the Peter Pan fiasco.

Before heading to her own car, Emma puled Regina in at the waist, holding her tight, needing comfort. Regina placed light kisses on Emma's face for a moment, then asked if she wanted to talk about it. The blonde shook her head and replied that they would when they got home and Henry was asleep. It was only after Regina drove away that Emma realized she wanted to talk to an outside party. She text the brunette that she would be home in a bit but was making a stop first.

She drove in silence to the diner. Running the argument over in her head several times in the short drive, she got angrier and angrier at Snow and at herself. She couldn't find herself angry at Regina or David. David was being extremely kind about the situation and Regina was so loving and beautiful and perfect; Emma marveled at the fact that they had managed to get past everything and fall in love with each other. She parked her car and walked into the diner. Just as she had guessed, Ruby was still tending the counter. The place was fairly unpopulated, probably because The Rabbit Hole tended to steal the weekend drinking crowd. Ruby looked at Emma as she roughly sat down and laid her head on the counter.

"Rough night?" Ruby asked sympathetically.

"Oh you have no idea."

"What can I get you?"

"A pint." The young brunette nodded and walked away before coming back with a container of double fudge ice cream and two spoons, holding one of them out to Emma and digging in the other for her own bite after she had taken the lid off.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm in the process of moving in with Regina and Henry."

"Oh."

Emma dug her spoon into the ice cream, licking her spoon clean and taking another bite before continuing. "Snow wasn't happy."

"No, I guess she wouldn't be."

A few more bites of ice cream and Emma continued. "I get it, they have a long history. But Regina has saved my ass a lot, and she's the most amazing mom. _And_ she's my True Love, that should…it should be enough. She makes me happier than I have ever been and that's not me embellishing. I had a shit life, but with her…everything is so great."

"I understand, Emma. You mom just needs more time. I know it sucks, but they both really hurt each other a lot, and you know, Regina _was_ really cruel to you mom in the Enchanted Forest so just go easy on her. She'll come around."

"I get needing time, I know we've only been back a couple of months. But David came around already and she had him locked in a dungeon or something."

"Just let it blow over, then keep trying." Emma nodded at her friend's advice, paid and left for home.

When she arrived she saw that Regina's car was already emptied. She grabbed a box and brought it inside, setting it on the elevated floor after the foyer. Regina walked down the few steps and pulled Emma's arm before the blonde could make it back out the door.

"Darling, we can get those tomorrow. Your clothes and toiletries are already inside, let's go to bed." Emma nodded and closed the door, locking it behind herself. She took Regina's hand and the women went up to the master bedroom—their bedroom.

"Do you want to talk about it, dear?" Regina asked after the bedroom door was closed behind them.

"No, I feel…" Emma shook her head. "I feel numb. Regina, please make me feel something. Please?" Emma looked at Regina with her eyes wide and pleading and looking more emerald than their usual blue-green.

Regina knew she'd do anything she could to make Emma's smile come back. She pushed the red leather off of strong shoulders and tugged at the bottom of the white long sleeve shirt. Emma's arms went up and Regina gently pulled the fabric over the blonde's head. Nimble fingers unbelted the tight belt on the small waist, pulling pants and panties down slender, pale legs, Emma lifting each foot off the ground so the clothing could be pulled all the way off. Last, the brunette unclasped the bra before her, letting it fall freely off her lover's beautiful body.

Regina pulled Emma into the bathroom and began running the shower. She undressed herself and helped Emma under the water, then joined the blonde. She tugged gently on long blonde locks, forcing her head to tilt under the water. Regina lathered shampoo into the long, thick hair and ran her hands through until it was clean. Next she poured a generous amount of body wash onto a loofah and began cleaning the thin, toned form in front of her. She then washed her own hair and body, after she was finished she pulled Emma into her arms, the blonde's head resting against her shoulder and Regina rubbed her hands up and down their fair back of her lover. She placed gentle kisses on the crown of blonde hair.

The women stood like that for a while until the water started running cold. Regina dried Emma off with a towel, wrapping it around the lithe figure when she was done, then pulled a towel out for herself and doing the same. Finding a pair of shorts and a blue t-shirt from one of Emma's bags, she helped the blonde put them on and dressed herself afterward in a pair of silk pajamas. Regina pulled Emma into bed with her and held her close.

"Emma darling, are you sure you don't want to talk?"

"Not right now, Regina. Make love to me. Make me feel."

"My dear, not right now. You would be upset later about it."

"Not with you, no I wouldn't."

"Are you sure I'm worth it, Emma? Are you sure this strain on your relationship with Snow is something you can live with?" She didn't want to ask the question for fear of what the answer might be. Everything she loved died or left her, but she loved Emma enough to let her go if that was what the blonde needed.

"You are worth losing everything for, Regina."

Regina smiled to herself, staying awake most of the night holding Emma until the blonde rolled away some time before dawn. The brunette got out of bed and dressed herself in one of her signature black pencil skirts and a deep purple blouse, pulling on a jacket, followed by a pair of knee high boots over her tights. She shook Henry awake and told him she was going to run some errands and grab breakfast for them from Granny's. She asked him to get into bed with Emma in case she woke up so she didn't have to be alone. He did as asked and she left.

Though the drive was short her thoughts wandered to what she was about to do. She could easily take pleasure if she was who she used to be, but her heart hurt for the woman she loved. It was still not yet dawn so there was next to no one awake, especially with it being a Saturday. She made her turns with ease and certainty finally pulling up to the unlit building. Regina pulled out her ring of skeleton keys and let herself into the apartment. No one was awake so she sat at the dining room table and waited.


	6. Chapter 6-Amends

**A/N: Alright, another shorter one, but the next chapter is going to be a long, drama and action filled one, so I wanted to make this one shortish and sweet. SMUT!**

* * *

When Snow finally emerged from behind the curtain that concealed her and David's bed and saw Regina she jumped. She cinched the opening of her robe together and cleared her throat.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Snow spat.

"I came for a little chat, hmm? Why don't you have a seat dear?"

"How dare you?"

Regina stared at her, waiting. Finally Snow huffed and sat down on the opposite end of the table.

"What do you want?" the younger woman asked bitterly.

"You owe an apology to Emma."

"You have the audacity to talk to me about _my_ daughter? The one I'm losing _again,_ because of _you_?" The inflictions in her voice made Regina roll her eyes.

"Don't you dare blame me this time! I love her. I would never keep her from anyone she wanted to be with." Regina was shouting in her anger, causing Charming to run out valiantly in his boxers to protect her. When he saw it was Regina he sighed and sat next to Snow.

"What more do you want from me?" Snow asked.

"I want _nothing_ from you. I only want Emma's happiness. How can you be so fine with hurting her? She's good, the most good I've _ever_ seen and you're her mother! You shouldn't be hurting her!" Regina was still yelling, but schooled her anger in before speaking again. "You may never believe that what you did to me was cruel, I don't care anymore. But Snow, I am truly sorry for what I did. For your father, for all the people I killed, for all the damage I caused. I'm sorry I kept you and your Prince apart for so long, because now I can understand how that would hurt. I am not sorry for the curse. I hate that place; it is not my home. My home is where Emma and Henry are. If it was not for the curse, I would not have either of them, so again I'm really not sorry for the curse. I'm also sorry that you felt the need to express your desire for another child as Emma being "not what you wanted," you may not have raised her, but you couldn't have wished for a better daughter."

Snow gasped in frustration and anguish.

"So, Snow White, what I want from you is for you to stop being selfish and to accept your daughter, my True Love, accept her happiness and join her in it. Be happy for her. Be the mother she wants to know. She loves you and she needs your acceptance. Just give it to her."

Snow stared at Regina for several moments considering how to respond but finally she nodded. "Ok, Regina, you're right. I only want for Emma to be happy. I forgive you. And I'm very sorry for Daniel, for telling your secret. I'm sorry again about your mother."

Regina's jaw tightened and she curtly nodded. "If you are big enough to forgive me, then I too can forgive you." She cleared her throat. "Now, I know you still don't approve, but we would like to have you two over for dinner tonight. Will 6:30 do?" Snow and David nodded their agreement and Regina left.

Emma woke to Henry reading out loud from the novel that Regina had had on her nightstand. She looked over at him, curious about where Regina was, so she asked.

"She said she had to run errands and then would bring breakfast."

"Errands? It's barely dawn."

"I don't know. She just told me she wanted me to come in here in case you woke up."

It dawned on her what Regina would be doing and she jumped out of bed, ushering Henry out of the room. Shuffling through a bag she found jeans and a tank top, quickly dressing herself in them. She pulled on boots and stormed down the stairs toward the door intent on stopping Regina from whatever she planned to do with Snow. Before Emma could make it to the door, Regina stepped inside.

"What did you do?" Emma asked, eyes wide.

"We can discuss this later," Regina responded, looking to the stairs where Henry was now standing.

"Did you hurt grandma?" the boy's voice asked, scared.

"Of course not, dear." She held out the bags from Granny's. "Henry, would you take these and set the table? Your mom and I will meet you in to eat momentarily." After Henry was out of the room, Emma looked questioningly at Regina.

"Emma, you still believe it would be so easy for me to cause you pain?"

"I…I just…after what I said last night, I was uncertain how you would take it."

"Snow and I…we made amends I suppose. She and your father are coming tonight for dinner."

"Wh…what? You hate her!"

"I can't hate someone so important to you, my dear."

Emma grasped Regina's shoulders and pulled her in tightly. She moved her hands to hold Regina's head and kissed the brunette all over her face, telling her between kisses how much she loved her until her lips met full dark red ones. She kissed her lover tenderly and slowly, full of gratitude and love. Regina pulled out of the kiss after too quick of a minute

"You can thank me later by continuing that, but we should go have breakfast. You should text Neal and see if he wants Henry for a couple of hours today."

After breakfast Neal picked Henry up and after several instructions and 'do-nots' from Regina, the women were alone. Emma told Regina she would meet her in their bedroom while the blonde cleaned up the kitchen. The brunette climbed the stairs and walked into their bedroom. She undressed herself and slid into the bed naked and waited. She didn't have to wait long before Emma entered. Upon her entry she saw Regina already in bed, bare shoulders exposed despite the duvet covering the rest of the small form. The blonde raised her eyebrows.

"I was being preemptive," the brunette teased.

"As much as I love undressing you, this is nice," Emma replied bashfully. Quickly taking her clothes off, she clambered under the sheets and inched over to her lover. Regina was laying on her back, propped up on her elbows, so Emma leaned on her left elbow and knee, slipping her right leg between Regina's legs strategically placed against the brunette's core. She used her right hand to caress a tan cheek, rubbing her thumb over a full bottom lip. After her thumb cleared the lip, smooth pink lips replaced it, kissing softly and slowly. Red painted fingernails tangled in soft blonde curls, pushing into the scalp gently to hold their lips closer.

A smooth, wet tongue slipped out between wet lips and moved across the split between lush, plump ones asking entry, which was granted quickly. Emma didn't let the pace quicken, she wanted to savor this moment as long as possible. It was their first time together living with each other, the first time after finding out they had created a child through their magic, through their love. She wanted to make Regina feel so much pleasure that she wouldn't be able to walk. She wanted to make Regina feel as good as she herself had been feeling all morning. She _needed_ to make her lover feel as loved as she herself felt, for if any person in the world deserved it, it was Regina.

Emma moved her mouth over the hollow of Regina's cheek to the strong jaw she loved. She kissed along the jawline, sucked on the pulse point on the tan neck. Her hand roamed the smooth expanse of skin below her tenderly as her mouth did the same. She lovingly kissed every spot she knew that had an effect on Regina, her lips going from breasts to the valley between the mounds, to ribs, her navel, dipping her tongue into the tiny innie button and grazing her teeth against the hollow alone the lines of her hip bones.

Every bit of contact caused a sensual moan to escape from Regina's throat. Emma smoothed her palms down olive and toned things, spreading them apart and lowered herself on shins and elbow. Slowly she moved her mouth below a small, neat patch of pair to the small bundle of nerves, kissing it gently and causing the body beneath her to buck up instinctively and involuntarily. The whimpers Emma heard had her own core aching. She slid out her tongue and ran it down the slit below the bundle of nerves, until she was at the opening. She opened the brunette's legs farther, as far as they would go, causing a soft, pleased sigh to emit from between red lips.

She moved her tongue into the opening, automatically feeling muscles tighten around it, causing her own moan to release vibrations into Regina's opening. The warm center against her mouth began moving against her causing teeth to graze against wet flesh. She moved her mouth so she could dip one finger into the wet opening, pumping it a couple of times before pulling it out to insert another so that her index and middle fingers were pumping and curling into the warmth as juices seeped over her fingers and knuckles. She closed her mouth over Regina's clit and sucked it gently in the slow even pace her fingers had set.

"Em-ma," Regina moaned. "Please, I need release." The whisper was just audible enough that the blonde heard. Deciding she had shown her love fairly, she set a quicker pace adding her ring finger and letting her pinky graze the smaller hole just below where her three center fingers were pumping. She flicked the clit with her tongue, and grazed it with her teeth, moving quickly and determinedly, wanting her lover's pleasure to be sweet and complete.

She kept her mouth and hands working while she raised her eyes, looking through her lashes at Regina who had one hand tangled in golden hair and the other kneading her own breast in the same manner Emma's second hand was moving. Heavy lids were slowly covering the dark brown eyes as her body bucked and tightened with pleasure, her bottom lifting off the bed. Emma moved her hand from Regina's breast to her ass, squeezing it and stroking it in one hand, continuing to lick and pump with her mouth and other hand until the brunette's body once again settled back on the bed limply and relaxed.

Emma crawled up Regina's body, kissing her tenderly along her taut stomach and curved chest until her lips landed against the brunette's, kissing her gently. She brought her right hand up and, while looking into Regina's eyes, she licked the sweet juices off each finger.

"Emma," Regina whispered. "I was counting on sex, but that was…mmm."

"Good," Emma replied, a dopey grin taking over her mouth.

"Mmm, you're amazing. I never knew love could feel like this."

"Me neither."

"I'm glad it's with you."

"Me too."

"Alright, my turn. Get up here." Regina motioned for Emma to lower herself onto Regina's mouth. Emma shook her head.

"No, you can take care of me later. I kind of just want to cuddle and nap. We have all day."

And it took no time at all for Regina and Emma, wrapped around each other, to fall asleep.


	7. Chapter 7- Trouble

**A/N: Short chapter but I have a pretty big one coming next time! Enjoy. Please review!**

* * *

Regina woke up to Emma's phone buzzing incessantly on the nightstand. Groggily she shook the pale shoulder that was on her chest.

"Emma, come on, your phone is ringing, go answer it."

"Mmm, I don't want to," Emma answered sleepily, squeezing Regina's waist tighter with the arm that was already draped across the bare skin. "Can't I get it later?"

"No, come on dear, it's time to get up and get dinner started anyway." Regina placed a soft kiss on the top of blonde tresses and sat herself up causing Emma to roll over onto the bed. The phone's vibrations started again. "Get your phone." Regina walked into the bathroom and heard the muffled sounds of Emma's voice through the door. Something seemed off so Regina walked back into the bedroom only to hear panic in the blonde's voice as she talked on the phone.

"What do you mean you don't know where he is?" Emma yelled into the phone, pushing the screen to put it on speakerphone.

"Emma, I swear we were at the playground and he was playing with the mechanic's kids and I started talking to the guy, whatever his name is, and you know, his two kids came up to us and asked where Henry went."

"What did you do with my son?" Regina screamed, her fury uncontainable.

"Emma, come on, why am I on speaker? I asked if I could talk to you alone," Neal said, almost in a whine. "Look, Regina, Emma, I've been searching in the woods for almost an hour, I can't find him."

"You waited an hour to call us?" Emma yelled. "What is wrong with you, Neal?"

"Just come and help me, I'm worried."

"Yeah, you should be. And if I were you, I'd worry about what happens after we find him because I'm not going to stop Regina from whatever she wants to do to you."

"Yeah, alright."

"And get your father to help."

She threw the phone at the wall after Neal agreed. She went into the closet and grabbed the first clothes from each side of the walls, chucking one set to Regina. The women dressed themselves and Emma called Snow and Charming to start looking at the far end of town. They enlisted the dwarves and everyone was searching from each side of the town for any trace of Henry.

"Regina, what if…what if we can't find him?" Emma asked as they got out of the car to start searching the beach.

"We'll find him, Emma. We'll find him."

Regina's chest was tight with panic, she was worried about what could have happened to Henry. He was a smart boy, he would scream if someone hurt him or tried to take him. He knew better than to wander off without telling someone where he was going, and he wouldn't run away at this point, not with how happy they all were. She was also concerned about the amount of stress she could practically seem emanating from Emma's shoulders.

"Emma," Regina said, waiting for the blonde to look at her. Once jade eyes were looking into chocolate ones, Regina grasped one of the pale hands with her own. "I need you to make me a promise." Emma looked at Regina with a confused expression, but nodded. "I need for you to promise that if this search gets dangerous you will go home."

"I'm sorry, Regina, what?"

"If something happens that could potentially harm you I will need you to leave."

"Are you crazy? I'm not leaving you to find our son alone. That's stupid."

"Maybe it is, but I will be of no use if I am concerned about your safety and that of our unborn child. You cannot put yourself in harm's way like you are usually so willing to do. I need you to promise me, Emma. I can't bear it if something happens to Henry, but I couldn't bear it if something happened to the two of you either, and I will be much more powerful if I'm not distracted with worry about you." Emma looked like she wanted to argue about it more but instead looked away and nodded. "Good. Now, let's go find our son."

The two women checked the cannery, searching behind and under anything in their way. After they found nothing, they moved onto the docks. Snow and Charming were searching the woods by the town line Emma had crossed coming into Storybrooke, but Emma had a feeling about the beach, which was why they headed there. Emma picked around driftwood and kicked at rocks, frustrated at the fact that every time things looked safe, something bad happened, something that always involved Henry being in danger.

"Who do you think would do this?"

"I don't know, Emma. As far as I know there isn't anyone else that wants to destroy me that would be willing to hurt Henry to do it."

"You think this is about you?"

"Isn't it always?"

"Regina, you can't think like that. He probably just saw something and wanted to find it and got lost in the woods."

"Emma, if you really believed that, why would you have been so adamant about searching _here_ of all places? This is far enough away from the playground that he wouldn't have accidentally wandered here and gotten lost."

"Well, ok, do you have anymore, uh… enemies that want to get back at you?"

Regina looked at Emma with one eyebrow raised. "Emma, nearly everyone is my enemy, I'm not really sure I can pinpoint one or two people."

"Right, well, any that are powerful enough to be willing to battle you?"

"I don't know, dear. No one ever could challenge me before except people with magic and I really can't think of anymore magic users."

"Jefferson?"

"No. I really don't think he would hurt Henry. Henry is the one who pushed him to reconnect with Grace, I just don't think that he would do it. Besides, Jefferson and I are sort of on decent terms again. I mean, since I offered to fix what I had broken."

"You did?"

"Yeah, um, after we got back from Neverland and I decided I wanted to undo as much damage as I could. I offered to give them new memories but Grace didn't want it."

"Oh. Ok."

In the time that the women were speaking they had made their way to the far end of the beach where it met the woods. Emma felt a surge of pain and choked when she saw what looked like shoeprints begin dragged off the sand. Regina looked at the ground where Emma was staring and knelt down, touching her hand to the sand and making shoe tracks glow on the ground through the woods.

Emma called Snow and Charming for back up while Regina called Tinkerbell and asked her to please find Neal and Rumple to meet them at the station. The two women began carefully following the glowing tracks on the ground. Emma took Regina's hand for comfort and the two trekked carefully through the woods. Emma kept one hand on her gun, ready to control the situation. When the tracks came to an end, Regina screamed a sound so high-pitched and bloodcurdling. Emma, who had fallen behind checking the woods more thoroughly, ran to Regina to see what happened. Looking down where Regina's eyes were staring, she saw Henry lying on the ground, cuts all over his face and arms. There was a bandana tied around his face acting as a gag over his mouth and there was a lot of dried blood across his body and underneath him soaking into the soil.

Emma knelt down and checked for a pulse. It was light, but there. Emma picked him up, carrying him one arm at the backs of his knees and the other supporting his neck. The two women walked as quickly as possible but at a slower pace than they wished. Henry had gotten taller and heavier since she first came to Storybrooke. Thankfully, Snow and David had made their way a decent distance into the woods and ran to the two women, Snow nearly in tears. David took Henry and the four made their way out of the woods at a much faster pace.

"We need to get him to the hospital. I can heal him a little, but not quite as much as he needs to," Regina choked. She and Emma clambered into the backseat of their car and Henry was laid across their legs. David and Snow were in the front seat and David quickly sped in the direction of the hospital. Snow called Neal and told him to let everyone know that they had found Henry and they would be at the hospital.

Henry was rushed into a trauma room to be looked over and to have a transfusion started and nobody was allowed to enter the room. Regina paced quickly while Emma sat in a chair and followed her with her eyes. Neal ran into the waiting room desperate for answers, followed by Rumple and Belle.

"Where is he? What happened? Is he ok?" Neal asked desperately.

Regina stopped pacing and put on her evil queen face. She walked up to Neal, their noses inches from touching. "I swear on your life, if he is not ok, _you_ will _not_ be ok. I will destroy you if Henry isn't ok. How could you stop watching him? How could you let someone do this to him? He was cut, all over, in probably a hundred places, bleeding out slowly! What if he lost too much blood? What if he isn't ever ok? How can you live with yourself?" Regina was shouting in Neal's face.

"Regina, come on, calm down," Emma scolded. She was standing now and gripping Regina's bicep, squeezing reassuringly. "Henry will be fine. Calm down, sweetie."

"Regina, listen, I'm sorry. I thought he would be fine, I just looked away for a minute to talk to the other dad. He was playing with other kids. I'm sorry."

"I don't want to hear it. You're not forgiven until I know my son is going to be fine!"

Footsteps approached the group and everyone turned around to face the owner of them. Standing in front of Regina and Neal, who were now shoulder to shoulder, was Doctor Whale.

"I have news on Henry's condition."

Six words that started a sentence they all needed to hear the ending of.


	8. Chapter 8- Waiting

**A/N- Hey guys! I'm not in love with this chapter, but we'll see what you guys think! Let me know!xxx**

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Regina asked with a raised voice.

"He's awake. We had to give him a transfusion and we need to do surgery. IT looks like he fell and hit his head pretty hard and there's a bleed in his brain."

"How bad is the bleed?" Emma asked, her eyebrows raising and her eyes pooling with tears.

"I wish I had better news. The bleed is in the frontal lobe. It's the part of the brain that controls personality reactions. If we don't stop the bleeding, Henry could die. But I need to warn you that this surgery could change who he is, maybe temporarily, but it's very possible it could be permanent."

Henry's moms both gasped and Regina started shaking. Neal put his head in his hand and shook his head, mostly at himself. The rest of the group was silent.

"I'm very sorry, Emma, Regina. I know this is a lot to process, but I need one of you to sign the form for the surgery," Dr. Whale coaxed kindly.

Emma nodded and put her hand out for his clipboard, signing the necessary paperwork. She put an arm around Regina when she was done.

"Just, do what you can to make him ok? Please, Dr. Whale, give us our son back."

"I will do everything I can." With that, the blonde doctor walked away and left everyone to deal with the news he had just given them. Emma turned to the group of people surrounding her and Regina.

"I need you all to go, please."

"But Emma, we want to help," Snow offered.

"I know, but the more people that are here, the more I am going to think about what is happening right now. I need you all to go to the woods where we found him and see if you can find anything. _Anything_, a hair, rippled cloth, a footprint, just something that can help us figure out who did this to our son. And then, when we find out, the bastard better pray for death because it'll be cake compared to what I'm going to do."

Everyone cleared out except Regina, Emma, Neal and Rumplestiltskin. Rumple waited down the hall as though he was trying to see what Neal was going to do. Emma looked at Neal and raised her eyebrows.

"Can I help you, Neal?"

"He's my son, too. I want to stay and see what I can do."

"I think you've done enough, Neal. Go home." Emma's voice was cold and angry. She knew it wasn't Neal's fault, but she also knew that if it had been she or Regina with him, Henry would have known better than to wander off and he wouldn't have been out of their sight as it was. Still, she felt a little bad blaming Neal entirely. "Just go, I'll let you know about any changes."

Emma pulled Regina to a seat and wrapped her arms around her the best she could in the awkward sitting position. Regina sobbed in a way that Emma had hardly seen from her. The woman's usual method of coping was anger and vengeance but right now there was no knowledge of where to place those emotions, so cried. Emma soothed her the best she could.

"Emma..."

"I know, Regina, I know, shh, he'll be ok," Emma soothed.

"I need my baby to be ok." Regina grappled at Emma's arm that was draped on her chest across her collarbones. Her body was heaving with her sobs and her face and the sleeve of Emma's shirt were heavily wet with tears.

* * *

Snow and Charming followed closely by Grumpy, Tinkerbell and the Blue Fairy, made their way to the spot where they found Henry. Snow instructed everyone to fan out and search the area. Snow had become quite talented, while she was on the run from the Evil Queen all those years ago, at watching the ground for tracks and traces. For that reason she took the way Emma and Regina had taken when they found Henry. The group searched for hours before they found anything. It was lucky that Snow found it at all.

Her foot crunched against something and she looked down, taking a step back. She crouched to the ground and picked up a small piece of glass, it looked like the corner of something, connected to a small black piece of plastic.

She called for the rest of the group, and when they arrived she held out what she had found.

"What is this?" she asked, specifically to David.

"It's, I don't know, but this looks like a good area to check, keep looking."

The group searched the smaller area around where Snow had just found the debris. Grumpy found a pale blue string, it looked like it had been torn from clothing, on a log. It was well past dark and the group couldn't see any longer, not even with Tinkerbell and the Blue Fairy using magic to light the area, so they all went home.

Snow called Emma to tell them what they found and to get an update on Henry before trying to rest.

* * *

"Mom, what did you guys find?" Emma waited as the other woman spoke her part of the conversation. "No, they said he'll be out of surgery soon, but brain surgery takes a long time and that even when he's out he'll probably take a long time to wake up." ... "Ok, I'll let you know when we know something. Love you."

Regina looked up at Emma, eyes now dry from being cried out. Her face was slightly reddened still and her eyes were swollen. But her dark eyes searched Emma's green ones looking to head what Snow had told her.

"Snow said they found a piece of string from clothing and a plastic and glass piece of debris. Neither were too mussed up so it looked like they were fairly fresh. David said first thing in the morning he's going to send them away for fingerprints and any type of DNA."

"Ok." The women sat together, holding each other while they waited. Regina was nursing a cup of coffee in her hands that a nurse had brought her and Emma had one arm wrapped around the darker woman's shoulders.

Several more minutes of waiting and Dr. Whale came down the hall and both women stood abruptly.

"Henry's out of surgery and his vitals are great. We stopped the bleed and he should make a good recovery. Unfortunately, the only person that can let us know if it affected his personality is Henry himself. We won't know anything until he wakes up. You two can see him now, if you want to, but let him wake up on his own."

Emma nodded and took Regina's hand into her own and they made their way into the room Dr. Whale had directed them towards. They walked in slowly, together, so reminded of the last time Henry was in this hospital as a patient. Seeing their son laying on a bed, attached to several machines made Emma tear up easily, though she had been doing a good job of avoiding tears all day. Regina was the strong one now, moving chairs close to the bed where he was laying. She pulled Emma to the chair and offered the blonde the chair closest to Henry's head, taking the one by his hand. Emma brushed her fingers through his hair and Regina took his hand. Both women laid their heads down on the bed and finally gave into the sleep their bodies had been begging them for.

* * *

Henry woke before either of his mothers did on that next morning. He noticed that Regina was holding his hand with her left one, while her head was resting on it and her right hand clung to Emma's left hand. His blonde mother's head was next to his shoulder, her hair splayed down his arm and her right hand tangled in his hair. He cleared his throat and moved two fingers to brush against his brunette mother's cheek. She blinked into wakefulness and raised her head before she even realized what woke her up. She jumped out of her chair and dropped Emma's hand, jarring the blonde awake. Emma sat up straight and walked around to the other side of the bed. Each woman was holding one of Henry's hands and taking turns stroking his cheeks and kissing his forehead.

"Henry, dear, we were so worried," Regina whispered.

"Mom? Emma? Why am I at the hospital? Did Pan hurt me?"

"What? Henry, you don't remember?" Emma asked, gently.

"Remember what? You guys saved me! I knew you'd come for me."

"Henry, dear, we saved you from Pan almost two months ago. Are you telling me you don't remember anything that has happened in the last two months?"

Henry shook his head and the expression on his face grew to a confused one. Emma gently leaned her body against Henry in an attempt to hug him and Regina went to find Dr. Whale. Whale followed her back to the room and explained to the three of them that temporary amnesia is often caused from anesthesia and that it would likely wear off.

"What if it doesn't? Emma asked.

"Well, unfortunately that can happen. It happens sometimes to someone who has undergone brain surgery."

"What can we do?"

"Try to jog his memory. But to be honest, we're very lucky it was only two months that he lost. Most patients lose a great deal more of their memories, he's a resilient kid."

The women nodded him out of the room and noticed Henry was on the verge of falling back to sleep. Regina motioned for Emma to meet her in the hallway and told Henry that they would be right back.

"What do we do?" Emma asked.

"Oh Emma, I don't know. I mean, I don't know if we should tell him about us or if we should leave it be for now. I don't know what to tell him at all about the last two months. I mean, if we take him home he's going to see all of your stuff anyway."

"I guess we should be pleased that he didn't lose more than two months, like Dr. Whale said. Can you imagine with our insane lives what reminding him of his life would be like if he had lost _years_ instead?"

"I can only imagine."

"I guess we might as well tell him. Honesty is the best way to go if we've learned anything from our past mistakes with Henry."

"Alright. Let's go tell our son we're dating."


End file.
